The film asks two central questions: What’s Wrong With the World? and What Can We Do About it?. It is about “human connectedness, happiness, and the human spirit.” The film received a twenty minute standing ovation at its first screening.

How had I, who decried the gap between the rich and the poor, become the gap between the rich and the poor?

where does your family end and those you can take advantage of, those from whom you can extract a profit, begin?

And if by saving something for a rainy day, you poison the rain itself—this makes sense?

Food sharing in today’s society is not the norm, and when practiced, gratitude is expected. For the Bushmen, it is a way of life

the cultural hum for growth and profits is so strong that we routinely describe our altruistic endeavors in negative terms—we call them nonprofits and nongovernmental agencies—as if it is not profitable to love your fellow man or to serve your community with your time and talent

do not wish to redistribute wealth; I wish to redefine it. When people understand that true wealth is found not in the accumulation of things, but in the advancement of love, wealth will redistribute itself

This has been called the most profound discovery in all of physics because it proves that our accepted understanding of the fundamental nature of reality has been wrong; that all of life is not separate, but connected.

Electrons behave one way until researchers introduce a device that “watches” or records the movement of the electrons. Once the recording device is introduced, the electrons behave in a completely different way. Just the act of observation somehow changes the way the electrons move through the slits—as if these electrons know they are being observed!

Thus, at the very base of life, there is a constant pulsating dance—particles are always shifting into waves, and waves are shifting back into particles. And just like the double slit experiment, what makes a wave lock into its particle form is when you look at it! That’s right, observation or consciousness appears to be what transforms energy/waves into the stuff that we call matter and life.

The story now emerging from a wide range of disciplines is decidedly hopeful; that humans may actually be hardwired for good, and that our basic nature is empathetic, compassionate, and kind.

And what are we being told? That we are full of darkness; that it is every man for himself. And yet, how many countless acts of cooperation go unreported every day, every hour, every minute?

After decades of studying the human body, doctors now know that aggressive, angry, and frustrated states break down human physiology. Living in these “negative” states contributes to the onset of numerous diseases, including heart attacks, headaches, digestive disorders, diabetes, compromised immune functions, and shortened life spans.

And what is proper evidence?

science is imperfect and has often been wrong. Even the discoveries mentioned herein will one day be expanded upon, further credited or discredited. Why discount profound human experiences such as love, intuition, or the power of prayer because they do not fit neatly along the edges of your yardstick?

What you see, you have been trained to see.

When he lives in these states, why do they bring about early onset diseases, from diabetes to ulcers to immune disorders? Why do pathways to the brain restrict when humans are angry and aggressive? If we were hardwired for this type of aggression, why would man not flourish in these states?

Why do compassionate states—states of love, peace, and appreciation—boost immune function and reduce the onset of stress-related disease? Why does laughter heal, and why do positive emotions such as joy and gratitude hasten recovery and improve circulation and performance?

name-calling is fear’s first line of defense, and with the name comes the sealed box that reduces human complexity to a checklist of prejudice and convenience. As long as we can find the right incendiary label, be it Republican, Democrat, Christian, Jew, Socialist, Communist, Gay, Straight, Left-wing, or Right-wing we stop learning in its tracks. Definition is the death of discovery, and if this dialogue is to have any merit, any chance of opening us up to new ideas and possibilities, let us keep our boxes at bay

Nutritional needs can now be handled by a few tribesmen, leaving others time to focus on varying tasks—some weave baskets, some build huts, others craft tools and refine weapons. Thus, specialization emerges, as tasks once shared by the group are divided up, separating people from organic communal ties. For the first time in history, individuals are told they have to earn a living, as societies begin to lock up food and distribute that food only to those whose work is seen as valuable

Upton Sinclair noted, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something,

when his salary depends on his not understanding it.

THERE IS A PLAIN TRUTH about the economic laws and system that now control our collective fate. It is a truth so simple, so obvious, that it goes by without regard. That truth is this: it’s all made up. Lest you think I’m exaggerating or kidding, I assure you I am not. Our economy is something we invented

Two words and two words alone could have solved the foreclosure crisis: You’re good. But we chose not to work things out with each other; we chose profits over people.

we don’t ultimately have a crisis of credit; we have a crisis of compassion. Some will undoubtedly call this assertion naïve, but since when is making the well-being of another naïve?

Nowhere is this crisis more apparent than in our blind belief in economic laws that are not laws; for example, the law of supply and demand

What your textbook won’t tell you is that these inflationary figures and trends are, again, based on choices. It’s a chain reaction really, and the first link in that chain is fear:

FEAR: And this mind-set you consider so egregious is what exactly? TRUTH: The commoditization of everything, the admiration and elevation of those who acquire and accumulate the most.

If you start with a wrong question—“How do we fix our economy?”—you will likely end up with a wrong answer, derailed in detail and minutia

Contrary to what we have been taught, cooperation, not competition, is the ruling order of nature

we have a term for cells in the body that take more than their share—we call those cells cancer

How much is enough?

Ownership and commoditization may help us organize and structure our social agreements—I know where you live, what’s “yours,” and thereby respect those boundaries—but they are insidious bedfellows commanding us to put a price on what is originally and essentially a gift

isn’t all artistic genius a product of listening? Pulitzer Prize—winning poet Mary Oliver says she doesn’t write poetry,she takes dictation and dresses it up a bit.

So the question arises, can I lay claim to any such gifts; can I say in truth that I own the art and inspiration that comes through me?

So, what exactly do I “own” of my art? Is it just and right that I reap whatever rewards I can get, or is there a more balanced approach, one that reflects the true nature of art’s inception and source?

Who can really own anything?

Many of us are still such volunteers, not on the carnival stage but on the stage of life, lulled to sleep by a misanthropic message, cajoled into behaviors that have us howling at the moon, unaware.

Our schools need more money!” is the most common cry of the would-be reformers. But is money really a panacea? Exactly what amount of it will lower students’ stress levels, now at record highs, or keep our kids from bullying each other? And what check could be written that would lift a child out of depression or eliminate a youth’s addiction to mood-altering medications?

Do our elected officials really believe that winning is an elixir that produces happiness and contentment among our students and citizens?A recent MSNBC report revealed 50 percent of college students have at one point considered suicide. That’s 50 percent. Half of our “best and brightest” entertain the thought of killing themselves to relieve this intense academic pressure. Is this not a loud enough alarm? Must we wait for half of our children to go through with the act?

where was the prosecution of the cruel and insensitive system that pits student against student? Where was the investigation into the atmosphere created by a society that rewards being number one over being benevolent? Bullying does not occur in a vacuum; it’s a fruit sprouting from the seeds we sow. And what are those seeds? Separate yourself from the pack, be number one, take care of yourself first, and win

we stubbornly cling to a warped ideology, that competition is the ruling order of nature, that it is the highest ideal.

We are not Socratic in our approach and do not ask our students to teach us about themselves that we may serve the light that is uniquely theirs. Instead, we tell our students, from the earliest age, what they need to know, and sadly, implied underneath, who they need to be.

foolish to think we can accurately standardize such diversity? What does an SAT score tell you about a child’s spirit, process, or imagination? Their ability to grow, listen, or adapt? These tests lay out inane problems, asking students to calculate the time of Jack and Janet’s drive to the store. Better to imagine why Jack and Janet are headed to the store in the first place—for birth control, the munchies, maybe to buy a scratcher to pay off their exorbitant student loans, or to grab a Red Bull to stay up late studying for their lame standardized tests. Scoring poorly on the SAT is not an indicator of less intelligence. In certain cases, it just might be the opposite. Perhaps for some, we should call a low score what it is: a compliment.

The sign hung over the Temple of Apollo, Know Thyself, has become Know Thy Job. Our wise Greek ancestors, apparently not wise enough to embrace the job as life’s primary end, chose knowledge of self, reality, and truth, as the aim of education. We have chosen employment and a paycheck. Do we not see our children suffer daily from this erroneous homage?

FEAR: You don’t get it. Parents don’t want their kids to be violinists! They want them to get good paying jobs, to be able to be competitive in the global economy. TRUTH: That is not what they want. It’s what they have been trained to want

I have heard countless parents say they want their children to do whatever makes them happy. Yet those same parents do not do what makes them happy. Their words fall on deaf ears. “I can’t hear what you’re saying over all that you’re doing,” is the child’s right response. “You want me to follow my bliss, yet you don’t follow yours?

We all would be well advised to do the best we can, to serve our passions and talents with all we are—but the numerical result is unimportant, and an unnecessary drain on our emotions and our focus.

FEAR: Happiness has no place in this conversation. TRUTH: Happiness is the conversation

When all your desires are distilled, You will cast just two votes: To love more, And be happy. —HAFIZ

this deep and destructive addiction of our culture, the desire to escape difficulties, the wish to avoid all pain, is why so many people lead quiet lives of desperation

We drink and take drugs to numb out; we watch TV to tune out; the sad fact is that we would rather be distracted than disturbed. But we have it upside down; when we are disturbed, we have a chance to learn something. Happy people, content people, know this and accept the instructive force the pain of separation and loss has to offer

Happiness is not a pursuit, it’s a practice

if money is such a panacea, why is the richest country on earth experiencing record levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide? Why then do we continue to teach our children that the good life is preceded and underscored by a dollar sign? If you don’t believe we’re teaching this to our kids, consider this startling statistic: 74 percent of our youth identify economic gain as the primary reason to go to college; not the pursuit of one’s passion, not for edification; not for relationships or the mind’s expansion

most of us greatly underestimate the power of changing one simple thing in our lives

What makes “one generation abandon the enterprises of another like stranded vessels”? The answer is all too simple: the discovery that something does not work, that a practice, like bloodletting, does not produce a desired result.

And when we stop to consider the principles on which we have built our society—separation; competition; that we are aggressive and selfish, flawed in our nature—do we not reach the same conclusion? Do we not realize that the present-day bloodletting does not work?

love is how things work.

Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am